China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation or Sinopec has joined forces with Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy and Nazarbayev University to launch a new initiative aimed at accelerating international cooperation on low-carbon energy and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS).
The Initiative for Cooperation on Low-Carbon Energy Development was unveiled during the 2026 International CCUS Technology Conference in Astana on Sept. 1-2, bringing together the International CCUS Technology Innovation Cooperation Organization (ICTO), Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy and the Institute of New Materials and Energy Technologies at Nazarbayev University.
The initiative seeks to strengthen cooperation on CCUS technologies and standards while expanding exchanges among professionals working across the sector.
Government officials, industry leaders and representatives of international organizations from China, Kazakhstan, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada attended the launch. More than 230 participants from dozens of countries and regions took part in the conference, which focused on carbon dioxide capture, geological storage, CO2 mineralization and the development of CCUS hubs.
Discussions also centered on the business models, policy frameworks and international partnerships needed to move CCUS from demonstration projects toward wider commercial deployment.
Tian Hongbin, vice president of Sinopec Group, said global climate action had entered a critical phase, with CCUS becoming a key enabling technology. Having helped establish ICTO, Sinopec would continue to support its development as a global network of leading experts and deepen international cooperation across the CCUS sector, he added.
Sinopec is already advancing large-scale CCUS infrastructure in China. The company has built the country's first 100-kilometer dense-phase CO2 pipeline and commissioned its first integrated CCUS demonstration project with an annual capacity of 1 million metric tons.
The company is also working with Shell, BASF and China Baowu on a joint study for China's first open-access CCUS cluster, targeting a 10-million-metric-ton scale. Separately, Sinopec is preparing a 1-million-metric-ton demonstration project at Shengli Oilfield designed to handle lower-concentration CO2 sources.
Together, the projects span multiple stages of the CCUS value chain, including CO2 capture from sources with different concentrations, enhanced oil recovery and geological storage.
Sinopec said it will continue working with ICTO and its members to link engineering experience with international research and help advance the development and deployment of CCUS technologies globally.
